Nearly three out of every four tablet computers purchased around the world last quarter were iPads, helping Apple further distance itself from competitors in a market it simultaneously invaded and helped redefine three years ago.

A mix of 17 million iPad 2s and third-generation iPads made up 69.6% of all tablet shipments during the three-month period ending July, more than seven times that of its closest rival Samsung, which managed to ship 2.254 million Galaxy Tabs.

Apple's 44% jump in iPad shipments was nearly enough to boost the Cupertino-based company back to an all-time high of 70% global tablet market share it achieved during the first quarter of 2011, according to research firm iSuppli.

"With the expected entrance of the 7-inch version of the iPad in September, Apple is sending a clear message that it plans to dominate this market over the long term," said Rhoda Alexander, who heads up the firm's tablet research.

"Apple?s major media tablet rivals, Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp., hope to challenge Apple in the second half of the year, but will be facing formidable headwinds with no sign that the market leader is backing off of its aggressive strategy in the market," he added.

For its part, online retailer Amazon is reported to have shipped just over 1 million Kindle tablets during the second quarter, placing it a distant third in the high-stakes battle for mind- and market-share in the modern mobile computing market.

The numbers don't mean anything because only Apple releases actual numbers of shipments with the assumption that > 99.9% are actually sold to end users. So in my eyes, Apple always have the highest market share of tablets. And if the Samsung Trial is any indication, the Android shipments are overstated.

AAPL up around $10 the last couple of days. Sounds like investors are reevaluating the "disappointing" results last quarter. Tech pundits are focused on the smartphone market where Apple is "losing." They will continue to ignore the tablet market until, if ever, a viable competitor emerges to challenge the iPad.

Great! We see numbers from Apple quarterlies mixed with wild guess estimates. If we use the IDC to Samsung court document convertor we see that Samsung's 4.4 million is around 83 tablets with 37 of them being returned.

This bot has been removed from circulation due to a malfunctioning morality chip.

Given the ipad mini buzz of a few weeks ago and expectations of a Sept release, there is surprising silence on the rumor mills with few parts etc., especially on contrast with iPhone release.

So either Apple is a lot better at keeping secrets in iPad mini, no one is checking it out or rather paying big bucks for iPad mini stuff, release date is wrong, or in my personal interest and desire and concern no mini.

I hope it's not the last, while I love my iPad, my wife wants a mini due to weight and size constraints she can accommodate. Regarding competition, without carrier promotions and steering customers to Andriod this is not a credible issue for the foreseeable future. With the possible exception of MS everyone sells their products at barely at cost and usually at a loss.

AAPL up around $10 the last couple of days. Sounds like investors are reevaluating the "disappointing" results last quarter. Tech pundits are focused on the smartphone market where Apple is "losing." They will continue to ignore the tablet market until, if ever, a viable competitor emerges to challenge the iPad.

It would nice to know how many tablets sold were the 7 to 8 inch models and how many were the 9 to 10 inch models. Just to find out which market has which percentage of market share for the standard and the mini sized tablets. I see that as two distinct markets. One being more of a reader tablet than a full sized tablet.

They will continue to ignore the tablet market until, if ever, a viable competitor emerges to challenge the iPad.

The Nexus 7 tablet is selling very well. Apple must counter it with a smaller tablet offering or its market share is going to start dropping again. I think Apple needs to get into the ecosystem war and have at least one cheap option in the tablet space.

I will be carefull with my options trading prior to the event. I plan on keeping my jan 2014 LEAPS but I will dump the other options just before the event because the risk is too high. If Apple doesnt deliver the "expected" iphone 5 and ipad mini the stock will plunge and I am not so sure we will see the mini since there are no hardware leaks yet.

The Nexus 7 tablet is selling very well. Apple must counter it with a smaller tablet offering or its market share is going to start dropping again. I think Apple needs to get into the ecosystem war and have at least one cheap option in the tablet space.

Except those numbers don't reflect the Nexus 7. These Samsung estimates have now been proven completely false. Unless Samsung sold 2.2 million tablets outside the USA, which is beyond preposterous that they sell everything outside the USA and virtually none inside. It's pretty clear that Samsung has close to 0% of the market, at best. I suspect the others are not so different. There is no "tablet market". There's only an "iPad market". The others are just outliers, with the Kindle Fire being the most common of them. Whether the Nexus 7 gains any real market traction - despite whether it's a good device or not - is still unknown.

It would appear that with the imminent release of a 7" pad, Apple is poised to do with tablets what it did with MP3 players. While some might argue that the relatively "closed" architecture of iOS means this is a bad thing, that may be a mis-reading of the market. While Android and Microsoft devotees may argue that tablets need to be more flexible, extendable, computer-like and so on, there is scant evidence that more than a tiny, tiny minority of tablet users really feel this way. The iPad, as a device, does what it is intended to, and it does it well. Like a toaster, it saw the need, it addresses the need, and it doesn't over-reach.

Microsoft Surface, with it's emphasis on a keyboard, strays badly from this model of simplicity and devotion to intent (i.e. a touch interface without need for input tools) and seems unlikely to break from the model of a lightweight laptop computer in users' minds. This was probably a strategic mistake by Microsoft, but time will tell.

At the end of the day, it may simply be that Apple cracked the table code and there is no need for additional vendors (save to keep pricing competitive.) Perhaps it is time for Microsoft and Google to create something new themselves, so that they can find similar niches to dominate. But right now, trying to battle Apple on the tablet front seems pretty hopeless.

iPad mini seems to be a natural outgrowth for an iOS device. Just like the iPod was offered in a variety of sizes and styles, it would make perfect sense to do the same thing with iOS devices - iPod touch, iPhone, iPad mini, iPad.

I know this isn't what the conversation is about, but Apple has such a tight consumer base, compared to any Android offering, that there is a very good chance that Apple can simply take the majority share of market in the iPad market, which can only help improve numbers in the iPhone category (as both consumers and businesses who use iPads want integration with their smartphones).

Maybe people are beginning to realised that anything other than an iPad are just toys.

I watched with amusement yesterday, returning from work on the train, a woman trying to use a Samsung Tab. The sheer look of frustration and confusion said it all. After 10 mins of frantic finger activity (looking more and more angry), she slammed it in her bag and got her iPhone out!!

The chances are that Apple will follow the iPhone strategy when the next iPad comes out, and will have iPad (4th Gen), iPad (3rd Gen) and iPad 2 all on sale at different price points. At this point, Apple market share will simply head north again.

In terms of iPhone sales, I'm always amused to hear that Android has taken the lead in market share as I very rarely see Android handsets (in the UK). I probably still see more Blackberry's than Android, so maybe it is a US or european thing!

Strangely, we currently have to use blackberry's at work (trial of iPhones almost complete :-) ), and almost everyone in my team, as well as the account team have iPhones for personal phones. Out of the 4 people that don't have iPhones, 2 have old Nokia phones, 1 a Nokia Windows phone and 1 Android (Samsung).

With Mountain Lion and iOS 6 working better with iCloud, the Halo effect will become even more intense, and if the rumoured TV comes off, then it will only add to it.

As we've seen before, particularly with Samsung: "shipments" <> "sales"!

IMHO, the 7" iPad rumours are spawned by Apple and are their method of testing the water to see what people think. My feeling is that a smaller form factor is inevitable, but won't happen this year. As others have said, there's enough leaked iPhone 5 part photos around, but nothing at all for what would be a higher-profile release of a different iPad? Nah.

But maybe next year! My guess: it will be widescreen, like the new iPhone - possibly even the same resolution. Making it more like a bigger iPhone than a smaller iPad.

Maybe people are beginning to realised that anything other than an iPad are just toys.

I watched with amusement yesterday, returning from work on the train, a woman trying to use a Samsung Tab. The sheer look of frustration and confusion said it all. After 10 mins of frantic finger activity (looking more and more angry), she slammed it in her bag and got her iPhone out!!

The chances are that Apple will follow the iPhone strategy when the next iPad comes out, and will have iPad (4th Gen), iPad (3rd Gen) and iPad 2 all on sale at different price points. At this point, Apple market share will simply head north again.

In terms of iPhone sales, I'm always amused to hear that Android has taken the lead in market share as I very rarely see Android handsets (in the UK). I probably still see more Blackberry's than Android, so maybe it is a US or european thing!

Strangely, we currently have to use blackberry's at work (trial of iPhones almost complete :-) ), and almost everyone in my team, as well as the account team have iPhones for personal phones. Out of the 4 people that don't have iPhones, 2 have old Nokia phones, 1 a Nokia Windows phone and 1 Android (Samsung).

With Mountain Lion and iOS 6 working better with iCloud, the Halo effect will become even more intense, and if the rumoured TV comes off, then it will only add to it.

It will be interesting to see the figures over the next two quarters.

FWIW - I actually like the Android OS because it does the stuff that iOS doesn't do. I won't get into the details, but that mainly from my predisposition toward technology... and probably why I don't use Apple mobile products as much anymore because I want to do that little more, but the OS doesn't have that feature.

The new Nexus 7 with the last Android OS is pretty decent. Maybe not as "one-touch" user friendly as the iPad OS, but once you spend some time with it, you'll enjoy the features the iPad doesn't have.

Apple's dominance of the tablet market really hasn't been challenged with a cohesive competitor short of Amazon.
People may pan it, but it took 6 million potential iPad users away, and with the Nexus 7... I see at least that number of units, if not more before Christmas.
That 7" market Apple is rumored to enter this fall/holiday.

There also remains Windows 8 Surface. A lot of people don't get the actual implications of that tablet. The fact that it has two models - one consumer, one enterprise (tablet/notebook) is what will essentially cut Apple off from the enterprise and meet consumers head on. Microsoft coming in "late" to the game isn't a bad thing. It allowed them to observe the market, let it react... get tired of iOS and come in with what very well could be, a better product.

So on the tablet side, Apple will have to fend off the 7" side with Amazon and Google... and the 10" side with Microsoft.

And from a marketing standpoint, remaining #1 and fighting two-fronts is some SERIOUS work. Not saying Apple can't do it... but the competition in this space is HUNGRY.
And as an Apple shareholder, I don't see that $100b in cash doing much innovating to meet this challenge because after seeming the dev copy of iOS6... yawn.

Originally Posted by Deedlez
My guess: it will be widescreen, like the new iPhone - possibly even the same resolution. Making it more like a bigger iPhone than a smaller iPad.

So… even MORE pointless…

Originally Posted by LuxoM3

There also remains Windows 8 Surface. A lot of people don't get the actual implications of that tablet. The fact that it has two models - one consumer, one enterprise (tablet/notebook) is what will essentially cut Apple off from the enterprise and meet consumers head on. Microsoft coming in "late" to the game isn't a bad thing. It allowed them to observe the market, let it react... get tired of iOS and come in with what very well could be, a better product.

Surface is as real as Courier and can only be spoken of in the same fashion.

…I don't see that $100b in cash doing much innovating to meet this challenge because after seeming the dev copy of iOS6... yawn.

Apple's dominance of the tablet market really hasn't been challenged with a cohesive competitor short of Amazon.
People may pan it, but it took 6 million potential iPad users away, and with the Nexus 7... I see at least that number of units, if not more before Christmas.
That 7" market Apple is rumored to enter this fall/holiday.

There also remains Windows 8 Surface. A lot of people don't get the actual implications of that tablet. The fact that it has two models - one consumer, one enterprise (tablet/notebook) is what will essentially cut Apple off from the enterprise and meet consumers head on. Microsoft coming in "late" to the game isn't a bad thing. It allowed them to observe the market, let it react... get tired of iOS and come in with what very well could be, a better product.

6MM potenial iPad users? Hardly, did Amazon ever break down the Fire sales..er...shipments? And those users probably wouldn't have bought the ipad anyway.
How many of those Nexus 7s were sold...er...shipped?

Originally Posted by Deedlez
My guess: it will be widescreen, like the new iPhone - possibly even the same resolution. Making it more like a bigger iPhone than a smaller iPad.

Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
So… even MORE pointless…

Actually a 8" ipad mini with ipad2 resolution and a 5" ipod touch with iphone 5 resolution would be nice additions to the Apple line up. More size choices for customers and there would be zero impact for developpers. More choice is more people hook into the ecosystem. That would also allow Apple to get feedback on a 5" device without risking the lucrative iphone market.

And tomorrow I'm sure to read an article by some jackass claiming that the Nexus 7 is going to bring Apple's iPad crashing down because it's the best value of any Android tablet available even as some business orders 10,000 iPads for its sales force. It is amazing that tech pundits still insist that Apple is on the verge of insolvency because iPhone sales slowed down last quarter. How is it they don't realize that Apple is sitting on $117 billion in cash which is more than what 90% of the companies on Wall Street are worth in market cap. $117 billion is a huge sum that absolutely won't disappear overnight even if market cap can.

I'm over in Europe on vacation, and I see iPads everywhere! I haven't seen a single person using an Android tablet anywhere. The few that have them are probably too ashamed and too embarrassed to be seen in public with such shitty and awful devices.

The Nexus 7 tablet is selling very well. Apple must counter it with a smaller tablet offering or its market share is going to start dropping again. I think Apple needs to get into the ecosystem war and have at least one cheap option in the tablet space.

I will be carefull with my options trading prior to the event. I plan on keeping my jan 2014 LEAPS but I will dump the other options just before the event because the risk is too high. If Apple doesnt deliver the "expected" iphone 5 and ipad mini the stock will plunge and I am not so sure we will see the mini since there are no hardware leaks yet.

If you anyone have links to ipad mini hardware component leaks please tell me.
Do you guys think we have any chance of seing the imac refresh before sept 12?

I still don't see why Apple has to build a smaller tablet because the Nexus 7 allegedly is selling well. Don't give me the price umbrella crap. When netbooks were being sold for $249, did Apple feel the need to make a device to compete? No, so why would they now. Market share has never been of high importance to Apple and I don't see that changing.

"Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example" Mark Twain"Just because something is deemed the law doesn't make it just" - SolipsismX

And tomorrow I'm sure to read an article by some jackass claiming that the Nexus 7 is going to bring Apple's iPad crashing down because it's the best value of any Android tablet available even as some business orders 10,000 iPads for its sales force. It is amazing that tech pundits still insist that Apple is on the verge of insolvency because iPhone sales slowed down last quarter. How is it they don't realize that Apple is sitting on $117 billion in cash which is more than what 90% of the companies on Wall Street are worth in market cap. $117 billion is a huge sum that absolutely won't disappear overnight even if market cap can.

I see what you mean and agree but for reasons I don't know many people see a company having that much cash as a bad thing.

"Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example" Mark Twain"Just because something is deemed the law doesn't make it just" - SolipsismX

And tomorrow I'm sure to read an article by some jackass claiming that the Nexus 7 is going to bring Apple's iPad crashing down because it's the best value of any Android tablet available even as some business orders 10,000 iPads for its sales force. It is amazing that tech pundits still insist that Apple is on the verge of insolvency because iPhone sales slowed down last quarter. How is it they don't realize that Apple is sitting on $117 billion in cash which is more than what 90% of the companies on Wall Street are worth in market cap. $117 billion is a huge sum that absolutely won't disappear overnight even if market cap can.

With that cash Apple would survive an "RIM event" but there would be a lot of people on the stock market that would lose a lot of money. But Apple is "equip" to survive a total product cycle failure indeed, it wont go out of business anytime soon.

But, but, I thought the iPad was 'crippled', and would 'fail', because it doesnt have a 'full-web' experience, like all those other awesome tablets. At least, that's what everyone online told me!

In other news...

Flash for Android dies tomorrow. Happened quicker than I thought. Adobe bashed Apple up and down for years for not supporting their all-important technology, but it's clear they never believed in it in the 1st place, otherwise they would have continued to support it for the hundreds of millions of Android devices out there (and the 27,293,103,320,294,293 that are activated everyday, or so they tell me). But apparently being on a platform supported by every single mobile manufacturer EXCEPT Apple is not reason enough for Adobe to keep flash alive. Should tell you something. Touché.

And from a marketing standpoint, remaining #1 and fighting two-fronts is some SERIOUS work. Not saying Apple can't do it... but the competition in this space is HUNGRY.
And as an Apple shareholder, I don't see that $100b in cash doing much innovating to meet this challenge because after seeming the dev copy of iOS6... yawn.

Oh look a concern-trolling post, how original. The same was said about the HP Touchpad, Motorola Xoom, Kindle Fire, etc etc. The list goes on and on. They were all supposed to topple iPad off its throne. Yeah, we see how that went. The competition has been 'hungry' since the iPad was launched. Didn't make a difference. Apple has also been fighting many more fronts than '2'. And its a serious stretch to state that the Kindle Fire took '6 million potential iPad sales'- you're saying all those than bought the $199 Kindle would have bought a $499-899 iPad if it didnt exist? You don't know the effect that the Kindle had. I know 2 bought that bought it, then decided to buy an iPad because they got comfortable with the notion of tablets and wanted something that could do more. Apple may or may not release a 7" iPad, but it doesn't matter. They will continue to do what they believe to be right, and this has served them well in the past. Predictions of doom for APple and their products happen every month, but so far its been quite the opposite. If they DO release a cheaper 7", they will effectively suck all the oxygen out of the room and it will instantly become like the iPod situation, so I can see why it would be tempting for them.

As for iOS6, I disagree with you. I'm running it now, and not only is it a significant improvement over iOS5, it has a thousands thoughtful tweaks and improvements, not to mention major ones like an extremely solid mapping solution created from the ground up by Apple, a massively impressive feat any way you look at it. Apple doesn't need to reinvent iOS every year. They just need to continually make it better, and its what they're doing. I own a Lumia phone, a Galaxy Nexus, and an iPhone, and iOS is still ahead in major areas like useability, consistency, stability, app ecosystem, etc. Windows phone UI is nice, but the feature set is still anemic, and wouldnt recommend it to anyone just yet. Got one for my mom, but after seeing her continually being frustrated by some odd UI choices, switched it with an iPhone instead and she's so much happier. That told me all I need to know about the state of the OS. Android is Android, which goes on a facelift every few months because they had no UI vision to begin with, and util recently has been a fly by wire visual work in progress. Apple happened to get it right the 1st time, because they actually did a shit-ton of testing and tweaking before releasing anything to the public. The fact that iOS hasnt changed much might be 'boring' to tech geeks, but goes to show how well thought out it was to begin with.

I'm over in Europe on vacation, and I see iPads everywhere! I haven't seen a single person using an Android tablet anywhere. The few that have them are probably too ashamed and too embarrassed to be seen in public with such shitty and awful devices.

Says who? The same analysts who vastly overestimated Samsung's pitiful tablet sales? And no, Apple does not need to come out with an iPad mini to survive. Your opinion on this matter is based on what exactly?

Do we know for sure? All I can find are estimates and predictions.
You can't just rely on a product "selling out" in stores as an indicator without knowing how many they had in stock.
"Nexus 7 Sold Out" is a great headline... but I'd like to know the numbers.

Somewhere I believe I saw Google's estimate of expected sales to only be around 4M this year. As a Nexus device it's not intended to be a market leader but rather a proof-of-concept tablet and kickstarter for Android 4.1.x. The licensees are expected to have their own versions based on the basic hardware specs later this year.

I'm over in Europe on vacation, and I see iPads everywhere! I haven't seen a single person using an Android tablet anywhere. The few that have them are probably too ashamed and too embarrassed to be seen in public with such shitty and awful devices.

Ah, back in the civilized world I see. Your absence was noted by the way.